


the flower on my wrist

by laurenshappenstobemyhusband



Category: The Half of It (2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Character Study, F/F, Gen, Platonic Soulmates, Romantic Soulmates, Short & Sweet, but also himbo and lesbian solidarity, i love them as a poly ship, so we're going option two
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:29:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24032791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laurenshappenstobemyhusband/pseuds/laurenshappenstobemyhusband
Summary: Ellie Chu has two soulmarks. Platonic and romantic. A boy and a girl. Paul Munsky and Aster Flores. Both beautiful and amazing people and very much out of her league, but only one of them makes her heart stop in her chest at the sight of them.She knows which one would be easier to love romantically. Easier for her father to accept, for society as a whole to accept.But at the end of the day, it isn't about what's easy, but about what's true. A story of platonic soulmates, romantic soulmates, and the blurry lines in between
Relationships: Edwin Chu & Ellie Chu, Ellie Chu & Paul Munsky, Ellie Chu/Aster Flores
Comments: 10
Kudos: 244





	the flower on my wrist

**Author's Note:**

> Alright. This isn't my normal ballpark, writing for a not-anime. But I saw this movie twice in a week and all of the fics coming out are veritable goldmines so... soulmate au. 
> 
> Im a sucker for validation don't @ me
> 
> everyone has platonic and romantic soulmarks but you can't tell which is which

Ellie Chu was born with two soulmarks. 

She supposes she's lucky, since some people are born with just one, and some without any at all. She's even luckier that she knows exactly who they are, that they live a walking distance away from her and go to the same school as her.

One wrist is dominated by a sketch of a taco. A sausage taco, if she's being precise. A soulmark is supposed to be meaningful to the person, and Paul loves nothing more than his new recipes and his dream of owning his own sausage store. He laughs every time he sees it on her wrist, then asks her to come over and have one in person. More often than not, she agrees. It is a damn good taco, she has to admit. 

The other wrist is less dramatic, more vague. Aster Flores left her mark in the form of a daisy, one with an imperfect stroke by the stem. While Paul's soulmark is all crisp and precise lines, hers looks like it was painted on by Aster herself. Flurry wisps and open ends and vague notions of springtime. Ellie couldn't think of a better mark for Aster if she tried.

Ellie's soulmark, left on the both of them, isn't something she enjoys seeing. It's hard for her to think about what she loves the most, a single symbol to represent her. The small guitar with a pair of round glasses, she feels, doesn't do her the same justice that Paul's and Aster's do. 

Paul says every time he sees it, it reminds him of her amazing performance at the talent show, when she stuck it to the whole school and made them listen to her voice in awed silence. He says it reminds him of the way she squints even while wearing her glasses, how she scribbles lyrics on her arms when she can't find paper.

Aster says that when she sees the mark, she remembers their time in the secret hot spring, when even then Ellie wouldn't take her glasses off out of stubbornness. She says the guitar reminds her of Ellie's voice, lilting and musical, something she can listen to for hours on end, and the combined guitar and glasses give off a sophisticated vibe that screams _This is Ellie._

Ellie can listen to Aster wax poetry about her soulmark all day. If she had to choose a favorite sound, it would be her laugh. There is no doubt in her mind who her romantic soulmate is, not a single one.

So why is it so hard for her to say out loud?

She knows that Aster has two soulmarks, and Paul has three. Neither of them have met their other soulmates, but it doesn't seem to matter to them in the slightest. If it were Ellie, she would want to know about every possible option and weigh them against each other.

Of course, how can she compare anyone to the way Aster's eyes twinkle when she talks about her favorite books, or her angelic singing voice, or the way her nose scrunches up when she's embarrassed?

Ellia hasn't said that she's a lesbian out loud, unless you count her whispering it into her pillow. She never took the risk of searching it up on her family's computer, since she shares it with her dad, but she never felt the need to either way. She's confident in her sexuality, which only makes her notion of her romantic soulmate that much more concrete. She's never met anyone more beautiful than Aster Flores, probably never will.

She's written five songs about her, none of which were ever heard by anyone but her dad, and she keeps all of the pronouns gender neutral for him. Sometimes she even makes them male, but that only makes the words sour in her mouth. Besides, that only makes him talk about Paul.

Paul and Ellie, Ellie and Aster, they have ambiguous relationships. Ellie lets her dad think that she's dating Paul, and Paul lets her let him think that because he's a gentleman and Ellie practically begged him the first night he came over to her house. He makes her dad happy, both as a person and as the concept of Ellie dating. She knows her father worries about her being a recluse, which is ironic given that he hasn't left the house himself in quite a while. 

Paul is the full package. He's tall, handsome, respectful of his elders. He can make a meal by himself (although more often than not the meal is just a type of sausage). He sits attentively and watches her dad's old movies with him when he comes over, and he doesn't talk during the good parts. He can recognize the best parts before her dad even points them out. 

But Aster... Aster reads philosophy for fun and eats politics for breakfast. She's quick with a paintbrush and quicker with her wit. She knows the best spots around town for getting a meal at three in the morning or hiding from the world. She speaks only loud enough to be heard if you're really listening. Even her insults have hints of compliments because she can't bear to be completely mean. But she'll still listen to Ellie's rants about dumbasses in school and comb her fingers through her hair and tell her she's valid.

Aster has told her multiple times that she's confused about who she is as a person. Ellie didn't need her to clarify any more than that. She can wait for Aster Flores as long as she'll wait for her in turn.

They've kissed twice now, always in secret, always in the dark. Once in the hot springs and once in Aster's car. Aster had said both times that she couldn't promise any more than a kiss. Ellie has responded both times that it was more than her heart could take already. Any more and she would melt into the ground, fade into nature like birdsong fades into the morning sky.

Paul told her once that he thinks she could be his romantic soulmate. He had tried to kiss her, and Ellie had almost cried when she rejected him. It felt like her limb was cut off when he stormed off, because even if she didn't like him the way he liked her, it didn't mean she loved him any less.

He had returned a few days later bursting with apologies, because he had felt the cutting too. They didn't talk about what it meant for her, how she had very obviously narrowed her options for a romantic soulmate down to one.

A daisy with an imperfect stem. The image is painted on the inside of her eyelids.

Maybe she'll tell her father one day. The thought gives her a heart attack now, but that could be different in the future. Maybe he'll come to her wedding in a rainbow tie and kiss Aster on the cheek after he kisses Ellie and he'll walk her down the aisle and leave a mountain of dumplings as a gift.

She's thinking too far ahead. How can she think of a wedding when her and Aster aren't even dating? Like a lovesick teenager scribbling their crush's name with their own last name, Ellie can't think too far ahead in the future without seeing Aster.

Maybe when she goes on her first date with Aster, her father will give Aster The Talk about treating her right, instead of just giving them both a funny look. Maybe he'll compare them to a couple from his old movies, or teach Aster how to say love in Mandarin.

Maybe the four of them - because she can't imagine her future without Paul either - will stand in the kitchen and make braised pork over rice together. Aster will have her hands around Ellie's waist, since her hands are too delicate for manual labor, and she'll be humming a tune while the three of them pound pork in bowls. Maybe Paul will be her best man, and even though he isn't good with words, he'll use a thesaurus and make a kick ass speech at their-

Damn, she's thinking about weddings again.

More than anything, she wants a future where she can have all of them. It almost feels selfish, wanting them all to interact, wanting all of their love. Wanting no more drama or miscommunications or fights or unknowns. 

Her perfect future doesn't start today. But maybe, if she wishes on enough shooting stars, it'll start tomorrow.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay there's no plot to this or anything but I hope you enjoyed regardless
> 
> tumblr: laurenshappenstobemyhusband


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